California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists; Notice of Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking, 51958-51960 [2010-21022]
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51958
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 163 / Tuesday, August 24, 2010 / Proposed Rules
administrative expenses shared between
the Committee and the CDPB in recent
years. The assessment rate of $0.27 per
ton of salable dried prunes was derived
by considering the handler assessment
revenue needed to meet anticipated
expenses, the estimated salable tons of
California dried prunes, excess funds
carried forward into the 2010–11 crop
year, and estimated interest income. An
alternative to this action would to be to
continue with the $0.16 per ton
assessment rate. However, an
assessment rate of $0.27 per ton of
salable dried prunes, along with excess
funds from the 2009–10 crop year, is
needed to provide enough income to
fund the Committee’s operations.
A review of historical and preliminary
information pertaining to the upcoming
crop year indicates that the grower price
for the 2008–09 crop year was $1,500
per ton, that the grower price for the
2009–10 crop year was $1,200 per ton,
and that the grower price for the 2010–
11 crop year could range between
$1,000 and $1,100 per ton of salable
dried prunes. Based on an estimated
150,000 salable tons of dried prunes,
assessment revenue as a percentage of
producer prices during the 2010–2011
crop year is expected to range between
.027 and .025 percent.
This action would increase the
assessment obligation imposed on
handlers. While assessments impose
some additional costs on handlers, the
costs are minimal and uniform on all
handlers. Some of the additional costs
may be passed on to producers.
However, these costs would be offset by
the benefits derived by the operation of
the marketing order. In addition, the
Committee’s meeting was widely
publicized throughout the California
dried prune industry and all interested
persons were invited to attend the
meeting and participate in Committee
deliberations on all issues. Like all
Committee meetings, the June 24, 2010,
meeting was a public meeting and all
entities, both large and small, were able
to express views on this issue. Finally,
interested persons are invited to submit
comments on this proposed rule,
including the regulatory and
informational impacts of this action on
small businesses.
This proposed rule would impose no
additional reporting or recordkeeping
requirements on either small or large
California prune handlers. As with all
Federal marketing order programs,
reports and forms are periodically
reviewed to reduce information
requirements and duplication by
industry and public sector agencies.
AMS is committed to complying with
the E-Government Act, to promote the
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14:48 Aug 23, 2010
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use of the Internet and other
information technologies to provide
increased opportunities for citizen
access to government information and
services, and for other purposes.
USDA has not identified any relevant
Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or
conflict with this rule.
A small business guide on complying
with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop
marketing agreements and orders may
be viewed at: https://www.ams.usda.gov/
MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide.
Any questions about the compliance
guide should be sent to Antoinette
Carter at the previously-mentioned
address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section.
A 30-day comment period is provided
to allow interested persons to respond
to this proposed rule. Thirty days is
deemed appropriate because: (1) The
2010–11 crop begins on August 1, 2010,
and the marketing order requires that
the rate of assessment for each crop year
apply to all assessable dried prunes
handled during such crop year; (2) the
Committee needs to have sufficient
funds to pay its expenses which are
incurred on a continuous basis; and (3)
handlers are aware of this action which
was unanimously recommended by the
Committee at a public meeting and is
similar to other assessment rate actions
issued in past years.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 993
Marketing agreements, Plum, Prunes,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the
preamble, 7 CFR part 993 is proposed to
be amended as follows:
PART 993—DRIED PRUNES
PRODUCED IN CALIFORNIA
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR
part 993 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674.
2. Section 993.347 is revised to read
as follows:
§ 993.347
Assessment rate.
On and after August 1, 2010, an
assessment rate of $0.27 per ton of
salable dried prunes is established for
California dried prunes.
Dated: August 17, 2010.
Rayne Pegg,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing
Service.
[FR Doc. 2010–20981 Filed 8–23–10; 8:45 am]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 26
[Docket No. PRM–26–4; NRC–2010–0269]
California Association of Marriage and
Family Therapists; Notice of Receipt of
Petition for Rulemaking
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; notice
of receipt.
AGENCY:
The Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) has received and
requests public comment on a petition
for rulemaking dated March 24, 2010,
and supplemented on July 12, 2010,
filed by the California Association of
Marriage and Family Therapists
(CAMFT) (petitioner). The petition was
docketed by the NRC and has been
assigned Docket No. PRM–26–4. The
petitioner requests that the NRC amend
its regulations to add marriage and
family therapists (MFT) as substance
abuse experts (SAEs).
DATES: Submit comments by November
8, 2010. Comments received after this
date will be considered if it is practical
to do so, but the NRC is able to assure
consideration only for comments
received on or before this date.
ADDRESSES: Please include Docket ID
NRC–2010–0269 in the subject line of
your comments. For instructions on
submitting comments and accessing
documents related to this action, see
‘‘Submitting Comments and Accessing
Information’’ in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document.
You may submit comments by any one
of the following methods.
Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for documents filed under Docket ID
NRC–2010–0269. Address questions
about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher,
telephone 301–492–3668; e-mail
Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov.
Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001, ATTN:
Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.
E-mail comments to:
Rulemaking.Comments@nrc.gov. If you
do not receive a reply e-mail confirming
that we have received your comments,
contact us directly at 301–415–1966.
Hand Deliver comments to: 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland
20852 between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.
during Federal workdays (Telephone
301–415–1966).
Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission at 301–
415–1101.
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 163 / Tuesday, August 24, 2010 / Proposed Rules
For a copy of the petition, write to
Betty Golden, Rules, Announcements,
and Directives Branch (MS TWB–5
B1M), Office of Administration, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules,
Announcements, and Directives Branch,
Division of Administrative Services,
Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555–0001, Telephone 301–492–
3667, toll free 800–368–5642,
Cindy.Bladey@nrc.gov.
wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with PROPOSALS_PART 1
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Submitting Comments and Accessing
Information
Comments submitted in writing or in
electronic form will be posted on the
NRC Web site and on the Federal
rulemaking Web site https://
www.regulations.gov. Because your
comments will not be edited to remove
any identifying or contact information,
the NRC cautions you against including
any information in your submission that
you do not want to be publicly
disclosed. The NRC requests that any
party soliciting or aggregating comments
received from other persons for
submission to the NRC inform those
persons that the NRC will not edit their
comments to remove any identifying or
contact information, and therefore, they
should not include any information in
their comments that they do not want
publicly disclosed.
You can access publicly available
documents related to this document,
including the following documents,
using the following methods:
NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR):
The public may examine and have
copied for a fee publicly available
documents at the NRC’s PDR, Room O–
1F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland.
NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access
and Management System (ADAMS):
Publicly available documents created or
received at the NRC are available
electronically at the NRC’s Electronic
Reading Room at https://www.nrc.gov/
reading-rm/adams.html. From this page,
the public can gain entry into ADAMS,
which provides text and image files of
NRC’s public documents. If you do not
have access to ADAMS or if there are
problems in accessing the documents
located in ADAMS, contact the NRC’s
PDR reference staff at 1–800–397–4209,
or 301–415–4737, or by e-mail to
PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS
accession numbers for the petition are
ML102030370 (March 24, 2010 letter)
and ML102000432 (July 12, 2010 letter).
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Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Public
comments and supporting materials
related to this action, including the
petition for rulemaking, can be found at
https://www.regulations.gov by searching
on Docket ID NRC–2010–0269.
Background
On March 24, 2010, the NRC received
a request submitted by CAMFT for the
NRC to amend its regulations at 10 CFR
26.187(b) to add marriage and family
therapists (MFTs) as substance abuse
experts (SAE). The NRC requested
additional information on the
petitioner’s request. The petitioner
provided this supplementary
information to the NRC in a letter dated
July 12, 2010, and the request has been
docketed as a petition for rulemaking
and assigned Docket No. PRM–26–4.
The petitioner states that its interest in
the requested action is to pursue
changes in law, whether statutory or
regulatory, that increase professional
opportunities for MFTs, and that treat
the profession on par with the other
mental health disciplines.
The Petition
The petitioner states that MFTs
should be included as SAEs for the
following reasons:
(1) The petitioner believes that this
amendment would enable MFTs who
are qualified to address substance abuse
issues by virtue of their education,
training, and experience to evaluate
individuals who have violated the
NRC’s fitness for duty policies. The
petitioner states that these MFTs would
also be able to make recommendations
concerning education, treatment, return
to duty, follow-up drug and alcohol
testing, and aftercare. The petitioner
states that many MFTs in California
perform this work on a daily basis, both
in inpatient and outpatient treatment
settings. The petitioner states that
‘‘qualified’’ means that the MFT
providing these services would meet the
‘‘basic knowledge’’ requirement
presented in 10 CFR 26.187(c) (i.e.,
demonstrated knowledge of and clinical
experience in the diagnosis and
treatment of alcohol and substance
abuse disorders), and would comply
with any continuing education
requirements. The petitioner states that,
in California, MFTs receive the same
amount of required instruction in
substance abuse issues that
psychologists receive. MFTs also receive
the same amount of required instruction
that licensed clinical social workers
receive.
(2) The petitioner believes that the
role of a SAE should be open to any
mental health professional, regardless of
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51959
licensure, who can demonstrate that he
or she is qualified to be a SAE. The
petitioner states that in the NRC’s
response to Industry Comment 2 (in the
10 CFR Part 26 proposed rule, ‘‘Fitness
for Duty Programs,’’ published on
August 26, 2005; 70 FR 50441), the NRC
addressed the question of whether only
licensed physicians could be SAEs. The
petitioner states that the NRC concluded
that the ‘‘SAE need not be a licensed
physician, but would be required to
have extensive expertise, such as a
licensed or certified social worker,
psychologist, or others listed in
§ 26.187(b), and additional
qualifications specifically related to
substance abuse disorders.’’
Consequently, the petitioner believes
that under the NRC’s own rationale for
the position of SAE, the emphasis is not
on a particular license designation.
Rather, the emphasis is on whether the
individual licensee has ‘‘extensive
expertise’’ in diagnosing and treating
alcohol and substance abuse issues. The
petitioner states that MFTs should be
included in the list of credentialed
professionals because they are
recognized by the Department of Health
and Human Services, along with
psychiatry, psychology, clinical social
work and psychiatric nursing as one of
the five core mental health disciplines
in the United States, and they are
trained to assess and treat substance
abuse issues.
(3) The petitioner states that
California law allows MFTs and
licensed clinical social workers to
diagnose and treat mental disorders.
The petitioner believes that if licensed
clinical social workers are included on
the list of professionals to diagnose and
treat mental disorders, then MFTs
should also be included. The petitioner
states that in California there is much
overlap of the professional duties and
responsibilities of marriage and family
therapists, psychologists, and clinical
social workers, especially in the area of
alcohol and substance abuse counseling.
The petitioner believes that all of these
professions have licensees who, by
virtue of their education, training, and
experience, have ‘‘extensive expertise’’
in diagnosing and treating alcohol and
substance abuse issues. The petitioner
believes that, if the NRC allows licensed
or certified social workers and licensed
or certified psychologists to be SAEs, it
should also allow MFTs to be SAEs.
(4) The petitioner believes that the
trend of the Federal Government is to
include MFTs as providers of substance
abuse services within government
programs. The petitioner states that the
Department of Transportation recently
amended its regulations to allow MFTs
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to be ‘‘substance abuse professionals’’
and to perform counseling services with
its employees, and the Federal Health
Resources Services Administration has
included MFTs on its list of five core
mental health disciplines.
(5) The petitioner states that the
licensing and regulation of MFTs is
done by all fifty states. The petitioner
states that although licensing is
conducted by individual states, the vast
majority of states require candidates to
pass the national MFT examination,
which is administered by the
Association of Marital and Family
Therapy Regulatory Boards (AMFTRB).
The National MFT examination tests
prospective MFTs on their knowledge of
substance abuse issues and treatment.
The petitioner states that in terms of
substance abuse issues, the AMFTRB
tests prospective MFTs on their
knowledge of how substance abuse and
dependency affect the individual and
the functioning of his or her family; the
effects of addictive behavior on the
individual and the family system; and
addiction treatment modalities.
The petitioner provided the following
documents as attachments to its petition
for rulemaking. These documents are
not included in this publication. (See
the ADDRESSES section of this document
for instructions on accessing a copy of
the petition for rulemaking.)
• California Business & Professions
Code § 498.36, § 1887.3, § 29, § 2914,
§ 1382.3, and § 4996.2;
• Yale School of Medicine Bulletin;
• NAADAC Guide to Certification;
and
• Employee Assistance Professionals
Association, ‘‘How to Become a CEAP’’.
In summary, the petitioner believes
that MFTs should be included in the list
of credentialed professionals presented
in 10 CFR 26.187(b). The petitioner
states that it realizes the importance of
the role SAEs play in safeguarding the
United States and its citizens, and
believes that the members of CAMFT
who are qualified to be SAEs would be
a credit to the NRC.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day
of August 2010.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2010–21022 Filed 8–23–10; 8:45 am]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 51
[EPA–HQ–OAR–2008–0462, FRL–9192–7]
RIN 2060–AP30
Proposed Rule To Implement the 1997
8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standard: New Source Review
Anti-Backsliding Provisions for Former
1-Hour Ozone Standard
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
This proposed action would
clarify the obligation to retain 1-hour
nonattainment new source review (NSR)
program requirements for certain areas
designated nonattainment for the 1997
8-hour ozone national ambient air
quality standard (NAAQS). The EPA
proposes to revise the rule for
implementing the 1997 8-hour ozone
NAAQS to address how NSR
requirements that applied by virtue of
the area’s 1-hour ozone NAAQS
classification should apply under the
anti-backsliding provisions of the 1997
8-hour implementation rule. This
proposed rule responds to the ruling by
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District
of Columbia Circuit that the 1-hour
major NSR program, as it applies to
areas that were designated 1-hour
nonattainment on the date of
designation for the 1997 8-hour
NAAQS, is a required control to prevent
backsliding. EPA has separately
proposed to remove the vacated
provisions of the rule that allowed
States to remove (or not include, if not
yet adopted) 1-hour major NSR for
nonattainment areas from their State
implementation plans (SIPs).
DATES: Comments. Comments must be
received on or before September 23,
2010.
Public Hearing. If anyone contacts us
requesting a public hearing by
September 3, 2010, we will hold a
public hearing approximately 30 days
after publication of this proposal in the
Federal Register. Additional
information about the hearing would be
published in a subsequent Federal
Register notice.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–
OAR–2008–0462, by one of the
following methods:
• https://www.regulations.gov: Follow
the on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
• E-mail: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov.
• Fax: (202) 566–9744.
SUMMARY:
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• Mail: Air and Radiation Docket and
Information Center, Attention Docket ID
No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2008–0462,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1301
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington,
DC 20460. Mail Code: 2822T. Please
include two copies if possible.
• Hand Delivery: Air and Radiation
Docket and Information Center,
Attention Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–
OAR–2008–0462, Environmental
Protection Agency in the EPA
Headquarters Library, Room Number
3334 in the EPA West Building, located
at 1301 Constitution Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC. The EPA/DC Public
Reading Room hours of operation will
be 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern
Standard Time (EST), Monday through
Friday, Air and Radiation Docket and
Information Center.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2008–
0462. The EPA’s policy is that all
comments received will be included in
the public docket without change and
may be made available on-line at
https://www.regulations.gov, including
any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes
information claimed to be confidential
business information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit
information that you consider to be CBI
or otherwise protected through https://
www.regulations.gov, or e-mail. The
https://www.regulations.gov Web Site is
an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which
means EPA will not know your identity
or contact information unless you
provide it in the body of your comment.
If you send an e-mail comment directly
to EPA without going through https://
www.regulations.gov, your e-mail
address will be automatically captured
and included as part of the comment
that is placed in the public docket and
made available on the Internet. If you
submit an electronic comment, EPA
recommends that you include your
name and other contact information in
the body of your comment and with any
disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA
cannot read your comment due to
technical difficulties and cannot contact
you for clarification, EPA may not be
able to consider your comment.
Electronic files should avoid the use of
special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or
viruses. For additional information
about EPA’s public docket, visit the EPA
Docket Center homepage at https://www.
epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. For
additional instructions on submitting
comments, go to the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document.
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 163 (Tuesday, August 24, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51958-51960]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-21022]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 26
[Docket No. PRM-26-4; NRC-2010-0269]
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists; Notice
of Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; notice of receipt.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received and
requests public comment on a petition for rulemaking dated March 24,
2010, and supplemented on July 12, 2010, filed by the California
Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) (petitioner). The
petition was docketed by the NRC and has been assigned Docket No. PRM-
26-4. The petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations to add
marriage and family therapists (MFT) as substance abuse experts (SAEs).
DATES: Submit comments by November 8, 2010. Comments received after
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC
is able to assure consideration only for comments received on or before
this date.
ADDRESSES: Please include Docket ID NRC-2010-0269 in the subject line
of your comments. For instructions on submitting comments and accessing
documents related to this action, see ``Submitting Comments and
Accessing Information'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document. You may submit comments by any one of the following
methods.
Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and
search for documents filed under Docket ID NRC-2010-0269. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher, telephone 301-492-3668;
e-mail Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov.
Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.
E-mail comments to: Rulemaking.Comments@nrc.gov. If you do not
receive a reply e-mail confirming that we have received your comments,
contact us directly at 301-415-1966.
Hand Deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland
20852 between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. during Federal workdays
(Telephone 301-415-1966).
Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at
301-415-1101.
[[Page 51959]]
For a copy of the petition, write to Betty Golden, Rules,
Announcements, and Directives Branch (MS TWB-5 B1M), Office of
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules,
Announcements, and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative
Services, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, Telephone 301-492-3667, toll free 800-368-
5642, Cindy.Bladey@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Submitting Comments and Accessing Information
Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form will be posted
on the NRC Web site and on the Federal rulemaking Web site https://www.regulations.gov. Because your comments will not be edited to remove
any identifying or contact information, the NRC cautions you against
including any information in your submission that you do not want to be
publicly disclosed. The NRC requests that any party soliciting or
aggregating comments received from other persons for submission to the
NRC inform those persons that the NRC will not edit their comments to
remove any identifying or contact information, and therefore, they
should not include any information in their comments that they do not
want publicly disclosed.
You can access publicly available documents related to this
document, including the following documents, using the following
methods:
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): The public may examine and have
copied for a fee publicly available documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O-
1F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS):
Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC are
available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this page, the public can gain
entry into ADAMS, which provides text and image files of NRC's public
documents. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems
in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC's PDR
reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to
PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS accession numbers for the petition are
ML102030370 (March 24, 2010 letter) and ML102000432 (July 12, 2010
letter).
Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Public comments and supporting
materials related to this action, including the petition for
rulemaking, can be found at https://www.regulations.gov by searching on
Docket ID NRC-2010-0269.
Background
On March 24, 2010, the NRC received a request submitted by CAMFT
for the NRC to amend its regulations at 10 CFR 26.187(b) to add
marriage and family therapists (MFTs) as substance abuse experts (SAE).
The NRC requested additional information on the petitioner's request.
The petitioner provided this supplementary information to the NRC in a
letter dated July 12, 2010, and the request has been docketed as a
petition for rulemaking and assigned Docket No. PRM-26-4. The
petitioner states that its interest in the requested action is to
pursue changes in law, whether statutory or regulatory, that increase
professional opportunities for MFTs, and that treat the profession on
par with the other mental health disciplines.
The Petition
The petitioner states that MFTs should be included as SAEs for the
following reasons:
(1) The petitioner believes that this amendment would enable MFTs
who are qualified to address substance abuse issues by virtue of their
education, training, and experience to evaluate individuals who have
violated the NRC's fitness for duty policies. The petitioner states
that these MFTs would also be able to make recommendations concerning
education, treatment, return to duty, follow-up drug and alcohol
testing, and aftercare. The petitioner states that many MFTs in
California perform this work on a daily basis, both in inpatient and
outpatient treatment settings. The petitioner states that ``qualified''
means that the MFT providing these services would meet the ``basic
knowledge'' requirement presented in 10 CFR 26.187(c) (i.e.,
demonstrated knowledge of and clinical experience in the diagnosis and
treatment of alcohol and substance abuse disorders), and would comply
with any continuing education requirements. The petitioner states that,
in California, MFTs receive the same amount of required instruction in
substance abuse issues that psychologists receive. MFTs also receive
the same amount of required instruction that licensed clinical social
workers receive.
(2) The petitioner believes that the role of a SAE should be open
to any mental health professional, regardless of licensure, who can
demonstrate that he or she is qualified to be a SAE. The petitioner
states that in the NRC's response to Industry Comment 2 (in the 10 CFR
Part 26 proposed rule, ``Fitness for Duty Programs,'' published on
August 26, 2005; 70 FR 50441), the NRC addressed the question of
whether only licensed physicians could be SAEs. The petitioner states
that the NRC concluded that the ``SAE need not be a licensed physician,
but would be required to have extensive expertise, such as a licensed
or certified social worker, psychologist, or others listed in Sec.
26.187(b), and additional qualifications specifically related to
substance abuse disorders.'' Consequently, the petitioner believes that
under the NRC's own rationale for the position of SAE, the emphasis is
not on a particular license designation. Rather, the emphasis is on
whether the individual licensee has ``extensive expertise'' in
diagnosing and treating alcohol and substance abuse issues. The
petitioner states that MFTs should be included in the list of
credentialed professionals because they are recognized by the
Department of Health and Human Services, along with psychiatry,
psychology, clinical social work and psychiatric nursing as one of the
five core mental health disciplines in the United States, and they are
trained to assess and treat substance abuse issues.
(3) The petitioner states that California law allows MFTs and
licensed clinical social workers to diagnose and treat mental
disorders. The petitioner believes that if licensed clinical social
workers are included on the list of professionals to diagnose and treat
mental disorders, then MFTs should also be included. The petitioner
states that in California there is much overlap of the professional
duties and responsibilities of marriage and family therapists,
psychologists, and clinical social workers, especially in the area of
alcohol and substance abuse counseling. The petitioner believes that
all of these professions have licensees who, by virtue of their
education, training, and experience, have ``extensive expertise'' in
diagnosing and treating alcohol and substance abuse issues. The
petitioner believes that, if the NRC allows licensed or certified
social workers and licensed or certified psychologists to be SAEs, it
should also allow MFTs to be SAEs.
(4) The petitioner believes that the trend of the Federal
Government is to include MFTs as providers of substance abuse services
within government programs. The petitioner states that the Department
of Transportation recently amended its regulations to allow MFTs
[[Page 51960]]
to be ``substance abuse professionals'' and to perform counseling
services with its employees, and the Federal Health Resources Services
Administration has included MFTs on its list of five core mental health
disciplines.
(5) The petitioner states that the licensing and regulation of MFTs
is done by all fifty states. The petitioner states that although
licensing is conducted by individual states, the vast majority of
states require candidates to pass the national MFT examination, which
is administered by the Association of Marital and Family Therapy
Regulatory Boards (AMFTRB). The National MFT examination tests
prospective MFTs on their knowledge of substance abuse issues and
treatment. The petitioner states that in terms of substance abuse
issues, the AMFTRB tests prospective MFTs on their knowledge of how
substance abuse and dependency affect the individual and the
functioning of his or her family; the effects of addictive behavior on
the individual and the family system; and addiction treatment
modalities.
The petitioner provided the following documents as attachments to
its petition for rulemaking. These documents are not included in this
publication. (See the ADDRESSES section of this document for
instructions on accessing a copy of the petition for rulemaking.)
California Business & Professions Code Sec. 498.36, Sec.
1887.3, Sec. 29, Sec. 2914, Sec. 1382.3, and Sec. 4996.2;
Yale School of Medicine Bulletin;
NAADAC Guide to Certification; and
Employee Assistance Professionals Association, ``How to
Become a CEAP''.
In summary, the petitioner believes that MFTs should be included in
the list of credentialed professionals presented in 10 CFR 26.187(b).
The petitioner states that it realizes the importance of the role SAEs
play in safeguarding the United States and its citizens, and believes
that the members of CAMFT who are qualified to be SAEs would be a
credit to the NRC.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day of August 2010.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2010-21022 Filed 8-23-10; 8:45 am]
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